6.Nge2 is a very interesting idea as well, postponing the development of the Bishop for another move to see what Black does. I agree that there are times after I put the Bishop on g5 that I wish the Bishop were on e3 (in Panno-like lines, mostly). But then, there are many times after I put the Bishop on e3 that I wish it were on g5!
I probably don't have a strong enough grasp of the theory to really debate with Semkov. Suffice it to say that this whole line (6.Be3 c5! and 6.Bg5 c5) is considered more-or-less fine for Black. In theory, of course; practice is a different matter.
With 6.Bg5, White can play in Averbakh-style at times, and he avoids some of Black's options (6...e5, for instance). The move is interesting and poses Black unique problems when compared to 6.Be3. Often times positions are reached that look very similar to "regular" (6.Be3) lines, but there are subtle nuances in White's favor; if Black plays in standard fashion, he gets in trouble. There are a lot of interesting ideas in here, and some players did incredibly well with 6.Bg5--Sadler, Dreev, Lautier, Yusupov...
In the end it's a game of chess, and at the very worst for White, it's equal. But I think Black still has problems to solve, and it's not quite as simple as just playing ...h7-h6 and ...h6-h5-h4 quickly. It all depends on move orders, but sometimes the Knight goes to f4, sometimes to c1, etc. I agree that if it goes to g3 too early in some lines Black gets excellent play.
So...I dunno. I think that it's an excellent practical weapon that hasn't been covered well in the literature. Following Bologan's recommendation, for instance, will get Black in a lot of trouble (in my opinion).
It's as good an option as anything else (I don't find 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 very inspiring for White, though I'd still prefer taking the White side here), poses unique problems, is not well-covered in the literature from either side; it sounds like a great practical weapon to me. I think the main reason that many top-level players have moved on is not that it's inferior to other lines, but rather that most of the most interesting ideas were explored back in the 90s. I suspect some time in the future (10 years?), some top-level players will pick it up again, with some new ideas for White. That's the way chess goes...
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